Margaret Parkolap of Naperville is such a fan of art work – it gives her goosebumps.

"Look at me as I'm talking about this," Parkolap said, rubbing her arm as she sat under a tree Saturday along the Naperville Riverwalk. "I love this fair, and I feel art speaks to my soul. I appreciate the creativity off all of these people as some never get recognized."

Artists and fans of their work were the focus of the 32nd annual Riverwalk Fine Art Fair, which brought thousands of visitors to Naperville's downtown area Saturday.

The juried art show, which continues to draw representatives from around the country, remains ranked among the top 100 shows nationally, according to organizer Debbie Venezia.

"We have about 130 artists here, which is down about a half dozen because of people affected by the hurricane in Florida," Venezia said. "About 60 percent of our artists are back from previous years, and about 40 percent are new. We like to keep things fresh."

David Sharos/Naperville Sun

Naperville artist Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi returned to the annual Riverwalk Fine Art Fair Saturday. The event continues Sunday. She said she makes "over 1,200 pieces of artwork a year."

"We have excellence, merit, and best of show awards, and we try very hard to have a balanced show each year in terms of the type of artists we have and the work they do," she said.

Parkolap said "the truth about buying art" is that now she can afford the real stuff.

"Let's face it – when a lot of us started out, you had to decorate by buying things at Target, but at this stage in life, we can finally afford it," she said. "Not all of the work speaks to me, but many of these things are breathtaking."

Martie and Leon Gawron, of Aurora, stopped to visit the art fair Saturday and said they have been coming the last 17 years.

"I'm a big pottery person, and I'd have to say that most years, I come home with at least a little something," Martie said. "I'm a former educator, teacher, and principal, and I appreciate art, period. We're always surprised by something we see here."

"I enjoy the setting here and just sitting and listening to the music," added Leon Gawron. "Personally, I can appreciate the effort people put into their work."

Naperville artist Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi said work for her is a "10 to 12 hours a day thing" and that coming to the annual art fair "is like a vacation."

"I work six days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day and sometimes on Sunday," Eskenazi said. "I've been at this show for at least 15 years, and I think people continue to buy things because of the patterns and textures I use. When people ask me how long it takes to make something, I tell them I've been training now for 35 years."

College students Trevor Nyland and Elizabeth Ladas, both of Naperville, said they were looking forward to enjoying "the creativity and expression" of the artists.

"I really like acrylic paintings, and I like to paint, myself, although I'm not that good," Ladas said.

Tina Hartman and her daughter Kimberly, of Naperville, said they were enjoying a mother-daughter day.

"I think art allows you to have a connection with the world, and I personally enjoy things done using acrylics," Tina Hartman said.

"For me, art makes you feel stuff, and it speaks to you. Because when look at a piece of jewelry or whatever, you feel the love that was put into it and realize it is a piece of that person you are experiencing," Kimberly Hartman said.

Debora Duran Geiger, whose work was commissioned by the Marquette group and can be seen along the Riverwalk near the Water St. District, traveled to the fair from Santa Fe, N.M.

"I work with fire ceramic tile, which has been used for thousands of years, and I tried to be as authentic and accurate as I could when I did the murals," Geiger said. "It's amazing to overhear people talking about it now and never realizing I was involved with the project."

Israel resident Yoram Gal, who has been a regular at the show since 2005, said he was happy to be back.

"I have a studio back home in Israel that I'm running with my wife, so I don't do as many shows here in the U.S. as I used to," Gal said as he applied paint to a canvas with his finger. "I always feel fortunate though to be back here."